I Hate Being The Protagonist

An untraceable amount of time passed in this dimension, it could've been days or weeks, I don't know. I didn't feel burdened, lonely or bored. I walked over thousands of pink hills, strolling through this pocket realm. I was amazed by the structure of mana here. Waves of magic passed continuously, and I followed their movements. It all felt instinctual, like my spirit knew where to lead me.

After a while, there was a certain point where the landscape changed a bit. There were small lakes appearing between the hills. Translucent orange fish swam in these patches of water peacefully, minding their own business.

[I wonder if Pluto placed them here, or if life evolved on its own in this dimension] I mulled internally.

I didn't talk to myself aloud, something I would usually do after an undetermined amount of time spent in solitude. This dimension had a peculiar effect of removing any mental strain, be it large or unnoticeable.

When my surroundings changed, I felt a distinct click, like a mechanical clock turning its hand towards a new hour. If I were to describe it, it would be the 2nd stage of my enlightenment. I didn't know whether I was going in the right direction, but I followed my soul. I don't know how many stages I would traverse, but I would welcome every part of it.

I got used to the lakes and the fish, finding a few streams that couldn't be called rivers, even if their length spanned into the horizon. Besides the flower petals and the fish, there wasn't any life in this dimension. No day and night cycle was present either. Again, this didn't bother me one bit, but it was very different from what I was used to.

"Woah," I muttered, my voice cracking from not being used for a while.

The reason of my newfound awe was a mountain range in the distance. There were jagged peaks of silvery mountain tops reaching into the cloudless sky. No snow permeated the mountain, even though it was as high as the Border mountains in the Overworld.

It took me a while to get there, but I started ascending the extreme height of these mountains. Below them were trees with pink treetops, reminding me of the cherry blossom in my mansion's garden. I wonder how Rache is doing...

The shiny rocks and cliffs I had to climb seemed pretty bizarre. I could best describe them as textureless, smoother than they should be, and devoid of usual shadows and coloring. It was like a child painted them into existence, on a canvas the size of a country. Another thing I noticed was how easy it was to move in this dimension. Up to now, I've felt lighter than usual, like I weigh 40 pounds less. This was exaggerated even further on the mountain trail. With every stroll, every jump, I would glide through the air as if the gravity has been reduced.

This whole experience was wild, something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

The monotonous climb was long, but felt quicker than it was. I've gotten used to this dreamy, hazed state of serenity in this dimension. Is this what Dorian went through? He never went into detail, even though Evy and I barraged him with questions. The dark haired boy liked simpler topics, so he avoided long explanations.

"I don't like to ramble," were his words, even though he knew we would sit and listen for hours.

[I'll definitely ramble to Evy when I get out] I thought to myself, jumping along the trail.

The top of the mountain was in reach, just beyond the next turn. I expected the air to be less dense on the top, but regular laws of physics don't apply here it seems. When I reached the top, a spectacular view welcomed me, the sight of countless miles filled with hills, small mountains, lakes and the all-consuming pink sea of flower petals. It would be more accurate to call them leaves—since they grow on trees and not out of a flower—but I still refer to them as flower petals in my mind.

Getting lost in thought, I almost missed the click of my progression. The second stage was over, and the third began. [I hope this is what I'm supposed to be doing] I tell myself, walking where the waves of magic lead me.

As I follow the structure of mana in the atmosphere, I feel my feet get lifted off the ground. This was something I've never experienced, as flight is restricted in the Overworld. However, this drift through the air wasn't of my own accord, it was the magic carrying me.

[I guess I don't need to wander about anymore] I think to myself, letting my body be taken by the magic ride of these sky waves.

Slowly but surely, I floated into the sky, seeing the mountain top I was on a few minutes ago get smaller and smaller, blending in with the rest of the landscape. This was the moment I realized something. An epiphany hit me, about the nature of this journey.

It started small, a flower petal appearing in my hand, but quickly turned to hills I walked over. It progressed into smaller lakes, filled with fish, then bigger ones along with streams of the same clear water. Then, mountains came into view, an object bigger than what I've seen before. They towered over the land, looking down at it like gods peering at the mortal world.

Now, I find myself in the sky, something above the mountains, and certainly bigger than them. The sky overviews the lands, looking down upon them. I felt the power of the sky, its unbelievable energy. The atmosphere held magic I could only dream of, but now, I experienced it for myself. Not only did I feel it completely, understand it, but soon, I surpassed it.

Transcending the sky, I ascended higher, into unknown and unexplored parts of this dimension. As I rose into the searing heights by the waves of a new force, I saw what I've been walking on during my time in this dimension.

It was a planet.

Unlike the Overworld—which is a flat plain that supposedly extends forever—this was a planet, suspended in the void of space. It's surface was the familiar shade of rose, a mesmerizing behemoth of mass. I was above it completely, seeing the edges of the round planet. It took me a while, but I distanced myself from the planet, enough to see others just like this.

"H-how?" I asked myself, perplexed by the strength and might Pluto carries. "One man... built this??"

It would only be the start of my awe.

Click. Another stage. I absorbed the information given to me, the perspective of the mana I was about to ascend over. The universe told me what I needed to know before moving on. It was a language I inherently knew, a bond through the magic of it and my own spirit. I needed to know the true size, the scale of the material and spiritual world. If all of this falls into the category of what lower beings can sense, what lies beyond it?

It was the question I asked myself constantly. What will it be like when I reach enlightenment, bringing my existence to a higher realm?

My questions needed to halt, as I stopped in the middle of my journey. The dimension's mana stopped carrying me, as something disrupted its continuous laminar flow. I could not feel what rippled the mana, but I could feel its effects. This was the work of a higher being.

My haze stopped, my mind returning to full consciousness. I wasn't absorbing information through a bond with the universe anymore. This was a moment where I passed galaxies, a dozen stages into my enlightenment. I was alone, floating through the void of space. There was nothing around me, except the distant galaxies that I transcended.

"W-who's there!?" I questioned into the void, slightly afraid of the unknown.

Suddenly, the mana shook violently, the whole dimension feeling the influence of something. I couldn't see, or feel what it was, but I knew it was a higher being because of its hidden presence. Its existence was from a different dimension, something that transcends my current level of being. I could faintly hear whispers echoing from far away.

I tried attuning myself with this dimension once again, but the sound didn't come from the countless galaxies surrounding me. It was from outside of this universe.

"—he's trying to feel us—"

"—so cute—"

"—the soul that he—"

I was afraid. At first I thought this was professor Guille, since he was enlightened and could probably take me out of this dimension when he pleases, but no. These were multiple beings, and they weren't anyone I knew. My instincts told me there wasn't a single speck of benevolence coming from them, so the hairs on my neck stood up and my heart began racing.

"—poor human—"

"—so afraid—"

I raised my hands towards the voices, calling upon the magic of this dimension, one that I understood much better now. [I've grown stronger now that I've ascended these stages, but I'm still not enlightened!] I note to myself, worrying about what'll happen next.

The truth was, I was helpless against these beings, and they knew it. Talking amongst themselves and making a mockery out of me, they started laughing. I couldn't discern how many there were, but it was more than three, and they weren't human. These weren't normal, worldly beings. Their maddening laughter grew louder, and more vile. I thought this might be the end of me, when they suddenly went silent.

Something else was approaching. The disturbance in the mana calmed down, and waves started carrying me again. However, this wasn't Pluto's dimension pushing me forward—I knew what that felt like—this was another being outside of this dimension. When this being moved, every other one went silent. The giant waves carrying me signaled it was more powerful than the others, at least I think so. It definitely made a bigger impact on the mana than the others.

The waves slowly halted, and I could feel this dimension shudder. "Proceed," the being said, speaking its final and only words.

Everything disappeared as soon as it arrived. The universe's mana kept going, continuing my progression. All of this lasted no more than 20 minutes, and I questioned myself if what I saw was even real. Click.

I decided to let it go, since I was in no immediate danger. I let myself drift into the next stage, carried by the magic waves. Drifting through space, exiting a cluster of galaxies, I asked myself "Does this dimension have consciousness?"

It felt like a living being, but when I connected to it, it felt like a machine rather than a sentient person.

I counted 19 distinct stages, with my travels lasting for months, I'm sure of it. Still, I wasn't deterred from continuing, as I felt the end was nearing. I passed clusters of galaxies, nebulae the size I can't even describe in words. Cosmic structures that dwarf any previous notations of celestial bodies.

There it was.

After floating through the cosmos, comprehending how large every finite thing is, I finally reached it. The end of the universe. I tried reaching for it with my hand, but it expanded outwards, growing larger every second. There was a membrane, separating everything finite inside, and what's beyond it. Infinity.

I spent an eternity there, my mind trying to understand it. Counting, I tried to visualize it, a thousand galaxies, a million clusters, a billion nebulae, a trillion small pocketed universes. I never reached it. I had to visualize infinity, but that wasn't even possible, was it?

Then it hit me. The dimension was trying to tell me something. I let its knowledge seep into me, remembering the words my professor told me, his lectures about finite and the infinite. It wasn't a concept I could reach by going bigger.

I extended my hand, touching the barrier. The end of the dimension was now in my grasp, I'm almost done.